


.::The War on Falling Stars::. Chapter 6: Crashing Down

by Antigravity_Carnivore



Series: The War on Falling Stars [6]
Category: Breaking Benjamin (Band), Project Vela (Band), STARSET (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Dark, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F.E.C., F/M, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gay Space Rocks, Government Conspiracy, Government Experimentation, Heavy Angst, Inspired by Music, M/M, Music, Musicians, New West, Rock Stars, Science, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:09:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22699171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antigravity_Carnivore/pseuds/Antigravity_Carnivore
Summary: The aftermath of the incident in the hospital brings old friends together, while Selene Bell struggles to protect everyone from New West. Meanwhile, Dustin Bates waits patiently for news on Aurora, and the Shepherd of the Damned.
Relationships: Benjamin Burnley/Keith Wallen, Dustin Bates/Benjamin Burnley, Dustin Bates/Brock Richards, Keith Wallen/Courtney Dellaflora, Siobhan Cronin/Brock Richards
Series: The War on Falling Stars [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1322462
Kudos: 2





	.::The War on Falling Stars::. Chapter 6: Crashing Down

**Author's Note:**

> To anyone reading this chapter.  
> Those of you who follow my story should know by now that I don’t write stuff for shock value, or even to entertain others. I write for myself, first and foremost, and I write for the characters that I want to hear from. As with all fan fiction, the story isn’t over until I say it is. What follows in this chapter is not shocking or controversial by any means, but I feel as though some of you may get a little upset over certain characters and their actions, and I thought that I would clarify a few things before you begin.  
> I never start a story with a plot in mind. I sit and write, let it flow organically. If something doesn’t feel right, I will walk away and leave it. I never force myself to write. I let the characters speak for themselves. The only exception to this rule is the end of this chapter. I knew how the last paragraph was going to go, but that’s it. (trust me, it could have gone a LOT worse) Two POV’s of this chapter have been swapped around, for the sake of continuity and may seem confusing but it’s a means to an end. Writing linear is something that I hardly do, I like to jump around and see what characters are doing at different times, so if you feel that something happening is strange, don’t fret, it all gets explained later at some point, maybe not this chapter, maybe not the next, but if you stay with me and keep reading, I am pretty sure that you will finally sort it all out.  
> That’s actually why I enjoy writing so much. These are my characters and I can jump in and out at any point during their lives and see what’s going on.  
> The other point I’d like to address is a certain character’s actions. I won’t give anything away here, but all I can say is, people change when placed under duress or other stressful situations. I went into this story with the clear intention of not repeating certain situations, but only using what has previously happened as irony. That being said, I do hope that you, gentle reader, will enjoy this chapter and take it for what it’s worth.
> 
> Antigravity Carnivore.

Keith Wallen paced around the small bedroom of the loft apartment in circles, running his fingers through his dark colored hair nervously. It was early morning and the first few rays of warm sunlight were filtering in through the half closed blinds that covered his windows, giving his skin a zigzag pattern as he wandered back and forth aimlessly. With his cellphone clutched tightly in his hand, his fingers tapped the green call button over and over, not satisfied with the annoying buzzing noise at the other end.

Peering out from underneath the blankets, her long dark hair tangled in knots, Courtney Dellaflora looked up at him with a slightly concerned, but sleepy gaze. “It’s super early. He’s probably still asleep, Keith, just like you should be. Why don’t you come back to bed and worry about it when it’s a more human hour?” She asked, yawning in between sentences.

Pausing his pacing, Keith glanced down at the time on his phone and frowned. “Huh? Oh I didn’t notice that. Well, I have to talk to him anyway. It’s important. It…”

“It was a dream Keith.” Courtney moaned, rolling over into the center of the bed. “You had a very vivid dream that felt real, that’s all. It happens to everyone.” She grabbed the blankets which were covering Keith’s side and slipped them onto hers, leaving his space bare. “Look babe, I know that it’s bothering you that Aaron went off on his own to find those missing kids, but I can almost guarantee you that he’s fine. Come back to bed please? You need your beauty sleep for the photo-shoot today that we’re doing out in the valley.” Courtney peeked at him over the edge of the blanket. “I’ll make you some pop tarts later while you watch your favorite Netflix shows… what do you say?”

Pretending that he was annoyed, Keith tossed his phone down onto a plush chair and crawled back into bed with Courtney, yanking some of the blankets back over to his side. “Fine. You win, you always win.” Draping his arm over her hip, he pulled her close to him and kissed the side of her shoulder.

“That’s because I am smarter than you, Marshmallow.” Courtney giggled. Slipping her hand underneath his, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh of contentment. “Now go to sleep.”

Hours passed as the couple slept peacefully in their studio apartment. Shortly before 10 am Keith woke up for the second time and rolled over to see that Courtney wasn’t there. He resigned himself to being fully awake and stumbled into the bathroom. Turning on the hot water to the shower to get the room good and warm, he picked up his glasses and glanced into the mirror. His once short and spiky hair had all grown out now, leaving softer, natural strands which fell perfectly down over one side of his face. It had been a long time since he took the time to color his hair, due to the fact that the events of the last few months had pushed him into a pit of depression, and he really didn’t give much care to his appearance, or his music at all. After the last Breaking Benjamin tour, and Ben’s disappearance, the other members of the band tried to keep things going, writing music, sharing songs, and just generally keeping in touch, but without Ben to keep the guys motivated, it eventually all came to an end. Each member of the band went their own way, choosing to spend time with their families, or as in Shaun’s case, nothing at all. In the days that passed, Keith would often pick up his guitar, a new melody stuck in his head, or a bit of lyrics that needed singing, but it never worked out. He would only play for a few moments, and then a memory of Ben would randomly pop into his head, filling his heart with sadness and instantly taking away all the inspiration. The songs were there, but he just couldn’t get them to come out of his head, not when all he could think about was Ben and his strange apparent suicide. Keith, like the rest of the band members refused to believe it. Rhiannon’s claim that he simply walked into the ocean was backed up by video footage from a camera installed on the back of their house, but it seemed too far fetched to be true. Returning home from the tour, Ben did seem a little withdrawn, and unusually moody, but Keith and the others just chalked it up to the tour ending. Benjamin lived for his work, his music and seeing the cheering faces of the crowds every single night. When a tour was over, he would often go home and immediately start planning the next, which the other members of the band never complained about. They liked being home, and with their families, but Benjamin and everyone who worked with him had formed a extended family and knew how much these shows meant. When it came down to it, no one ever told Ben no. After getting the phone call that Benjamin was gone, all the light inside of Keith faded away, snuffed out just like his best friends life. That was, until he met Courtney Dellaflora. A wedding photographer by trade, she was starting to branch out and expand her photographic skills with concerts and other events. Keith and Courtney instantly hit it off, right from the beginning, and as much as he hated to admit it, she was the one who struck the spark that put the light back in his life. Constantly encouraging him, but never pushing, she showed an interest in Keith’s solo work, and would often use bits of his lyrics as inspiration for her photos. Soon, late night photoshoots in abandoned warehouses were common, or daytime trips to the desert, where Keith would strum his guitar as she fired off shot after shot with her camera, trying her best to capture the real mood of the moment. These outings brought the two close, and after a few months, they were a team, living and creating art together. Courtney wasn’t a replacement for Ben, but she was something different, something new, something that made Keith feel like living again.

The bathroom had filled up with hot steam from the shower, and Keith stepped out of his boxer shorts and into the cascading water. He was a little anxious about the day ahead, with a photoshoot in the morning and his first solo gig in the evening, but the soothing warmth from the shower put him at ease, at least for the moment. He was planning something big for after the show and it made him more nervous than standing in front of all the strangers performing his own work. The crowds, he could deal with, and he wouldn’t be truly alone up there on the stage. Benjamin would be with him, in one form or another. Ben’s spirit was something that was too strong to be extinguished, and Keith knew that he existed somewhere and was always watching over them, even if his physical body was long gone. Reaching up, Keith wrapped his hand around the silver Celtic knot pendant that Courtney had made for him. Keith was never one to wear jewelry, he preferred to be more subdued and subtle in appearance, but when she presented him with the custom made pendant, he knew that he would never take it off again. In a way, that little knot was more than just the logo of the Breaking Benjamin band. It was the symbol of his faith, the one single thing that he believed in; something that no one could ever take away from him. He always kept it tucked away underneath his shirt, hidden from view. There wasn’t a reason for others to see it, it was for him and him alone.

Hot water trickled down out of the shower head and over Keith’s hand, which held onto the pendant tightly. He took a deep breath. “I know you can hear me Ben, wherever you are. I love her so much. Give me the strength that I need for tonight. Make me brave enough to stand in that spotlight, in front of all our friends and family and ask the question. Please.” Bowing his head down, Keith let the water wash over his head and neck, closing his eyes. A few moments passed when a sharp knock on the door startled him, instantly drawing him out of his silent reverie. Jumping, Keith’s feet slid on the wet floor of the shower, causing him to move awkwardly to keep himself from falling. His shoulder collided with the tile wall with a loud thud, and he groaned painfully. The door opened up all at once, letting the warm air out and sending a rush of cold in. Goosebumps instantly covered Keith’s skin and he made a clumsy, futile attempt at covering himself up.

Courtney stepped into the bathroom. Raising a eyebrow at him, she rolled her eyes. “Oh Keith, please… you don’t need to bother with that, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Peering through the shower door, Keith couldn’t help but to blush as he grabbed for the closest towel. “Well, you usually knock first and then ask for permission to come in, not the other way around. I could have been doing something… private in here!” He scolded her.

Leaning against the sink, Courtney scoffed. “Once again, it’s not anything that I haven’t seen before.” She smirked.

Reaching for his glasses, Keith rubbed the steam off of them and slipped them on. Glancing over at her, he could see that the smile quickly faded from her face. Something was troubling her. “Alright, Coco, what’s going on? Did I forget to put the laundry away or something?”

Courtney’s hand was already on the doorknob to the bathroom, and her back was turned away when she finally replied to him. “Hurry up and get dressed. Aaron is here.” Pulling the door open, she walked out without another word, leaving a slightly baffled Keith behind.

By the time that he joined them in the living room, Courtney had provided Aaron with a steaming cup of hot coffee, which was sitting in front of him on the small table. As Keith walked out, he could hear the two talking quietly, and the occasional dinging of the spoon in the cup as Aaron stirred the coffee, but all the while, he never took a sip from it. Rounding the corner, Keith sat on a chair across from Aaron, and Courtney retreated to the kitchen to leave the men alone. Noticing the look on Aaron’s face, Keith knew that the visit wasn’t a good one. He looked over at Aaron’s coffee for a moment, wishing that he had one, feeling awkward that he didn’t know how to start the conversation. The two men had been friends for years, why was it so hard now to start to speak? He cleared his throat. “So, it’s good to see you Aaron. Are you in town for the show tonight?” Keith asked awkwardly. As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them. Aaron had been totally consumed by finding his and Rhiannon’s missing children, and asking such a stupid, insignificant question was a totally absurd way to start a chat with someone he hadn't spoken to in months.

“No Keith, I am not in town for your show, although I wish that I was. Something much more serious brings me here and I wish to God that I wasn’t the one to have to do this.” Aaron said flatly, picking up his spoon and stirring the ever cooling coffee again.

Keith swallowed, he wrung his hands together. “Is it the kids? Did you find them?”

Placing the spoon back down on the table, Aaron looked over at Keith with eyes threatening to spill tears at any moment. He waited for a long time to speak. Courtney entered the room again and stood behind the chair Keith was sitting on. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Last night, Rhiannon called me from the psychiatric hospital, I’ve been keeping in touch with her, but she’s never really mentally there anymore. She sits in her rocking chair all day, humming ‘Rain’ over and over. I was driving when the call came, checking on some leads with a place called New West, at first I thought it was a joke or something, but when I heard the tone in her voice, I knew it was really her.” Aaron paused and glanced over to Courtney, who gripped Keith’s shoulder a little tighter. “Keith, the police contacted Rhiannon because they need her to go to the morgue and identify a body.”

The air felt like it was being sucked right out of Keith’s lungs. His hands were trembling now. “Whose body?” He asked quietly.

“Ben’s.”

Lowering his head, Keith kept his eyes trained on the floor. His hair draped down over his face.The words started to choke him. They felt like poison in his mouth, bitter and painful. Everything that he had believed in, all the hope that he had that Ben was still alive came crashing down around him. Courtney came to sit next to him. “So they found him? Was he at the beach? Did he really drown himself like Rhiannon said?” He whispered. 

Aaron pushed the coffee cup away from him. He couldn’t even feign interest in it now. Standing up, he walked over to the wall where Keith had all of the posters and memorabilia from Breaking Benjamin on display, looking at each one in turn. “I never thought that he would do something like this. We were brothers, all of us, the entire band. We shared everything. God knows that we’ve each had our share of troubles, but we always worked it out, together. It seems so absurd.” Aaron had to stop, he was now visibly upset. After a few moments, he managed to collect himself and get his feelings in check. “No Keith, it wasn’t a suicide. Benjamin was gunned down yesterday by the security at the hospital because he was trying to kidnap a child. He didn’t drown in the ocean… he fucking walked away from us, from his wife and children, from his life! I don’t understand… if we were all so much of a burden on him, and he wanted to quit, why didn’t he come out and tell us? What inner bullshit was he dealing with that made him turn is back on everything that he loved and do heaven knows what for an entire year?”

“Ben…No... he would never do that.” Keith murmured. “Are you even sure it was him? Rhiannon’s been out of her head for a long time now. I am sorry, but I can’t believe any of this. I need proof.”

“That’s why I am here.” Aaron pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table. “The address for the hospital is on there, Rhiannon gave it to me last night and I googled it. It’s a real place. I called to confirm and they said that an incident involving a child did happen, but they wouldn’t give me any further info on it. Even the news is keeping it hushed. Since Rhiannon can’t make the trip, we have to go identify the body, confirm it really is Ben. I know tonight is an important night for you, with the solo show and all, but I thought I’d ask if you wanted to go with me. I know how close you were to Benjamin, hell… we all were, but I think it’s important that you need to see him, with your own eyes.”

Courtney wrapped her arms around Keith, who was visibly shaking now. She pulled him close to her. She glanced over at Aaron. “How do they know it’s even Benjamin? I mean… you said they contacted Rhiannon who would be his next of kin, but how did they know to contact her? Was he carrying a wallet or some form of identification? People steal all the time. Perhaps someone found Ben’s ID and was using it.” She asked curiously.

“Apparently there is someone there by the name of Brock Richards. He claims that he knows Benjamin, and he was a close friend, but I’ve never heard of the guy. He was there when Ben was shot, but afterwards, he suffered some kind of seizure and had to be taken into intensive care. He hasn’t woken up yet, and they won’t accept a positive ID from him unless he can sign it so, it has to be from Rhiannon or one of us before they can dispose of the body.”

Keith pulled away from Courtney and glanced over to Aaron. “I had a dream last night…”

Courtney placed her hand on Keith’s leg. “Keith, I told you, it was just a dream. There’s no reason to bring that up now.”

Ignoring Courtney’s plea, Keith stood up and made his way over to Aaron. “I dreamed that I saw someone who looked like Ben, but wasn’t really Ben… It’s hard to explain, but he came to me as I slept and told me that he could no longer protect us. Then he walked away from me and I saw things… terrible things…I saw Shaun die, I saw you die too… I even saw my own death… I heard his voice… Ben’s voice telling me that the children would suffer for our sins.” He lowered his voice. “I woke up and all I could think about was calling you; I haven’t heard from you since you went looking for the children and I had to know if you were okay. I don’t know who it was in that dream, he looked and sounded like Ben, but it didn’t feel like him, at least not the Ben that I knew. Now you’re coming here and telling me that he’s been alive all this time, it can’t be a coincidence that this dream came to me last night.” Keith picked up the slip of paper off the table from where Aaron had tossed it. “I’ll go. I need answers.”

Aaron looked directly at Keith. “Are you sure that you are up to it? If it really is Benjamin, then there are going to be a lot of questions. If Benjamin has been the one kidnapping the children……”

“Aaron, Ben would NEVER hurt a child! You know this! He loved your son just as much as he loved his own. How many nights did he allow him on stage during encores? No... Ben wouldn't hurt a kid.” Keith answered confidently. “I am going to the hospital to see for myself. I won’t believe any of this until I see it with my own eyes. Benjamin, or whoever it was came to me in that dream to warm me of something. I think that we are in danger, and so are those kids, wherever they might be. I don’t know what’s waiting for us, but I do know that we are supposed to be there.

“And if it turns out that Benjamin was the one kidnapping the children?” Aaron asked roughly. “I’ve been searching a goddamn year for my son and I haven’t found any trace of him, and now I find out that Ben’s been kidnapping children? Is it because I failed to look right under my own nose?” A silence fell over the room. “This is so absurd. Let’s just go and get it over with.”

Keith grabbed his jacket and slipped it on, moving towards the door. “It won’t be Ben, you’ll see... it won't be.”

As the trio made their way to the hospital, not a single one of them spoke. Aaron drove in silence as Keith sat in the passenger seat and Courtney slid into the back. The day had started out bright and sunny, but along the way dark, ominous storm clouds rolled in and hung in a threatening manner high overhead. The air was thick and heavy, almost humid and it seemed to be alive with energy. Keith watched street after street roll by outside of the car window as they got closer to their destination. His thoughts went back to the disturbing dream from earlier in the morning which the strange figure appeared to him and showed him all of their deaths in vivid detail. He desperately wanted to talk about it, hoping that getting it off his chest would also get it out of his head, but Courtney didn’t take it seriously, and Aaron was on the offensive now, so he had no choice but to sit in silence and try to make sense of it all himself. Keith sat back in the seat and pulled the silver Celtic knot charm out from underneath his shirt. He closed his hand around it once again, squeezing it tightly and glanced up to the hospital now looming in front of him just as it started to rain.

The gunfire had stopped, and Selene let go of the squirming Tristan, who immediately ran over to the door. “No! Stop!” She shouted to him, but the little boy was faster than she could ever have imagined and had pulled it open and stepped out into the hall before she was even on her feet. As she approached the corridor, she saw him standing here in the doorway, motionless. Slowly approaching him, she looked from him, to the sight he was staring at and her jaw dropped open. The man who had brought Tristan out of his coma was now laying sprawled out on the floor, his body riddled with bullet holes. Blood pooled up underneath him, spreading out in a ever widening pool. The men who had shot him were now staring at the carnage that they had created, shocked from the gruesomeness scene in front of them. Smoke from their guns still hung in the hall, giving everything a surreal, hazy look. Tristan turned away, burying his face into Selene’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably. Bending down, she scooped up the child in her arms, hugging him tightly. Then she caught sight of Brock, kneeling on the floor next to the man, speaking quietly to him. She took a step toward him. “No.” She whispered. No one heard her. “Brock, don’t… Get away. It’s not safe. Don’t touch him.” Her warning came too late. Brock placed his hand on the man’s chest, and asked him a question. Several anxious moments passed, as everyone looked on, dumbfounded and not knowing what to do. As Brock moved to pull his hand away, his entire body suddenly tensed up, and he let out a cry of pain. In her arms, Tristan flinched. Brock’s eyes rolled back in his head and his entire body started to convulse uncontrollably. He fell backwards onto the blood soaked floor, as several members of the hospital staff came to his side.

One of the interns grabbed a crash cart and called out to Selene. “Dr. Bell! Over here!” He pulled the drawers out and rummaged through it looking for the proper drug to administer to stop the seizures. “What dosage should we use?”

Selene moved out into the hall, carefully stepping over the dead man’s legs, still holding Tristan tightly. She turned her head slightly to the nurse who was hovering over Brock. “Take my grandson into my office and wait with him there. Do not leave the room until I arrive.” Carefully she handed Tristan to him and pointed a finger in his face. “Do as I say and don’t you fucking leave him alone. This isn’t a request, it’s a command, and so help me… if you leave him for even one second, I will see to it that you will lose more than your job. Got it?” The nurse nodded and took the upset Tristan from her arms.

Turning her attention back to Brock, Selene started barking orders at the hospital staff, trying to get everyone organized and back on track. When the security personnel got too close, Selene instructed the interns to push them away, and keep them back while she worked. A life was on the line now, and she would do whatever she had to, to keep him alive. After a few anxious moments, she had Brock stabilized. He was in critical condition and near to the point of being brain dead, but at least he was alive. She saw to it that he was admitted, placed in a room, and then after everything calmed down, she went and personally moved him to a different wing, making all of his paperwork and every trace of his existence at the hospital disappear.

Hours later, in the far end of the secluded wing, Selene stood at Brock’s bed side. The overhead lights for the room had been turned off, and the only illumination came from the monitors connected to his body and the moonlight cascading in through the window. Gently picking up his wrist, she felt for a pulse, counting each beat of his heart, strong and steady. He was safe, at least for the moment. Adjusting the thin sheet draped across his comatose body, she drew in a deep breath, and spoke softly to him. “I didn’t mean for this to happen to you, Brock. Things just moved so quickly out there. New West is all over this hospital now and I am not sure how to stop them. I overheard some of their lackeys talking when you brought Siobhan in, that’s why I pulled you aside. They think you have information, something very important, that they want, and will do anything to get it. I should never have let them come here and have access to our patients, it was a stupid mistake… but they promised me that they would help Tristan. My grandson, he’s everything to me. I should have known better than to trust them.” Selene walked over to the window and pulled the curtain shut with a quick snap. “They never did anything for him, but that man… the one in black… he saved him. I should have stopped them, but honestly I didn’t think they’d shoot an unarmed man down. He gave life back to my boy and they took his! I won’t let it go; I will personally see to it that New West pays for what they have done. That man’s death won’t be in vein. So help me god, I will make things right, even if it’s the last thing that I do.”

Slowly walking away from Brock, Selene checked the room one last time. Satisfied that no one would know where he was, she left the room and locked the door behind her. Leaning against it, she pulled out her cellphone from her pocket and dialed Thomas’s number. No answer. Bringing up the messaging, she sent him a quick message. ‘Come to the hospital right away. Tristan is awake’. Switching numbers, she tried to call Lizzie, but she as well did not answer. “What’s going on tonight?” Selene mumbled. Worried about Tristan, Selene decided that she should return to her grandson and retry the calls to her family there. At least that way she could keep a eye on young Tristan herself and not have to get others involved. Shoving the phone back into her pocket, she hurried down the desolate, empty corridors of the unused wing of the hospital and soon found that she was not alone. Near the double doors with the glowing exit sign which led into the main hospital, a man stood motionless. Selene stopped in her tracks a few feet away from him. He was blocking the exit. Partially obscured in shadows from the doorway, she could only make out that he was dressed from head to foot in dark clothing and had somewhat of a slender build. Draped casually across one of his arms was the leather jacket that the man who had been killed earlier was wearing. It was still wet and damp with splattered blood. Something in the back of her mind told her to run, but her feet wouldn’t budge. She was the rabbit trapped in a snare, waiting to feed the wolf. “Who are you?” She called out, her nervous voice echoing down the hall. “This is a off limits area. You shouldn’t be here! Get out of the way.”

The man did not move. High above the lights started to flicker. He smiled, flashing his brilliant amber colored eyes at her. “I’ve come for Brock.”

The feeling of the warm sand felt good on Brock’s bare feet as he walked down the beach. It had been a warm day, the sun high in the sky beat down upon the bone white sand for hours, heating it up and trapping the warmth within. Now, as the sun started to dip down over the horizon and the first silver stars start to peek out from behind the clouds, Brock made his way down to the shore line, to speak to the Shepherd of the Damned.

As he slowly approached him, Brock listened to the quiet crash of the water on the beach, and the far away calls of the sea gulls off in the distance. He knew it was a dream. Standing behind the Shepherd, Brock put his hands in his pockets and glanced out to the sea beyond where he was standing. “This really is beautiful. I can see why you like it here.”

“I’ve always felt connected to the ocean. It’s very serene and calming. It contains so many colors. Silver at dawn, green at noon, dark blue in the evening. Sometimes it looks almost red. Right now the shadows of the clouds are dragging across it, and patches of moonlight are touching down everywhere. It is my favorite thing, I think, that I have ever seen. Sometimes I catch myself staring at it and forget my duties. It seems big enough to contain everything anyone could ever feel, a place where the lost souls could go.” Benjamin said quietly. “Enough room for all of them.”

Moving up to stand next to him, Brock glanced at the Shepherd and then back out to the ocean. In that brief second, he had seen so much sorrow on his friends face; it was almost too much to bear. Seeing all that sadness almost shattered his heart. “What happened back there Ben?”

The front flaps of Benjamin’s leather jacket flapped slightly in the breeze. “A necessary evil, I’m afraid.” He turned to face Brock and the expression on his face changed slightly to a more gentle look. “I never thought it would be you, of all people standing next to me… but now that I come to think about it more, it seems right. You are, after all a truly innocent soul.” Benjamin reached out and placed a hand on Brock’s shoulder, pulling him in closer. The setting sun cast a warm amber glow down on the two men standing on the beach. Warm, ocean waves rolled in and tickled Brock’s bare feet. Benjamin placed two fingers on the front of Brock’s neck and slid them upward in one fluid motion, stopping just underneath his chin. Brock jumped slightly at the touch, he was suddenly very aware of his surroundings, feeling everything all at once. The pressure of the Shepherd’s fingertips touching his skin was like an electric spark shooting down his spine. He looked into Ben’s gray green eyes and became mesmerized, unable to look away. Slightly lifting his chin, the Shepherd tilted Brock’s face up and brought his own near. Instantly, Brock started to tremble. He was feeling fear and this strange attraction all at once.

“Ben.” Brock whispered, trying to find his voice. The ocean seemed to be drowning it out. “What are you doing?” His hands went to the front of Ben’s chest and remained there, placed over the Shepherd’s slowly beating heart. His body was on fire now, ready to burst into flames and disintegrate into ashes at any moment. Nothing else in the world mattered to him now, The Shepherd of the Damned held him prisoner, trapping his body in unexpected ecstasy and his mind in chaos.

Slipping his fingers away from Brock’s chin, the Shepherd lowered his arms and wrapped them around Brock’s slender frame, bringing him into a sensuous embrace. Leaning in, cheek to cheek with Brock, he whispered. “For your innocence, for your pure love, and with my last bit of strength, I am going to give you something very special. It’s going to be very painful, and might just tear you apart, but then…isn’t that what love does?”

Around the two men, the sunlight had faded, and a deep purple color replaced the soothing warm colors of the sky around them. High above, the stars made way for the white silver moon, which ascended into the heavens like a kite. “I just want to go back home, Ben. I want to be with Siobhan again and live my life. Please just send me back.” A tear slipped down Brock’s cheek and splashed onto Ben’s.

The Shepherd drew away, only slightly and shook his head. “I am afraid it’s too late for that Brock. You’re eyes have been opened, and now it’s time for you to start to see, everything. I am sorry it's you.” Grabbing Brock’s shoulders once again, the Shepherd pulled him close and forced a kiss onto his lips. At first, Brock fought, using his hands on Ben’s chest as leverage to push away, trying desperately to get away from those soft lips, but it was already too late. The Shepherd closed his eyes just as Brock’s eyes went wide and his pupils contracted into tiny pinholes. A thousand memories flooded into his brain all at once. Pages upon pages of a story that he was a character in, transcending space and time, crossing over into alternate realities and strange new worlds. Starset, Breaking Benjamin, Dustin, Prox, the FEC, the Monster, Carnivores, Lizzie, Thomas it was all there. Everything the Shepherd had known was now inside Brock’s head. He involuntary inhaled, breathing in the breath from Ben’s lungs, and it made his chest feel tight and painful, he started to cough and pull away, but the Shepherd held him fast, and deepened the kiss into something more passionate, more intense and somewhat sexual. Brock felt light headed and sick, his knees threatened to give way underneath him. Dizzy and pale, he started to drop, but the Shepherd caught him and eased him down onto the soft sand as the memories continued to pour in. Scene after scene played out in Brock’s head, bringing with them all the feelings and emotions that he had ever experienced. More than ever now, Brock’s head hurt. Everything inside of it pounded and scratched at the sides of his skull, trying to get out. It was too much. The Shepherd broke off the kiss, but left his lips pressed against Brock's as they lay together in the sand. “It’s almost over Brock. There’s one last thing you have to remember. I am sorry, there is no going back now.” Blood was now oozing out from the corner of Brock's eyes as well as his nose and ears, visible signs of brain damage. The Shepherd whispered. “I've lifted the veil. Close your eyes and see him. Remember everything.”

Immediately Brock’s eyes dropped shut, and in the darkness and insanity of his own mind, someone was waiting for him.

The Shepherd felt Brock’s body go limp. His arms dropped down and his head lulled to the side. Droplets of blood dripped down off his face and were instantly absorbed by the sand. Ben bent down and placed a light kiss on Brock’s forehead. Kneeling beside him, he gazed up at the stars and into the inky blackness that held them high above as tears ran down his face. Wiping them away quickly, he looked back to Brock. “You really did care for him, didn’t you? Thank you, for showing my son what real love felt like, even if it was only for a short time. I only wish that he could have known a father’s love as well. I failed him, just like I failed all of you.. I wish that there could have been another way, Brock.” The Shepherd slipped out of his leather jacket and draped it over Brock’s still chest. Reaching out, he gently slid his hand down his cheek, over the soft ashen white skin that was already starting to turn cold and then moved into kiss his blue-ish tinted lips one last time. One by one, the sleepy fireflies, summoned by the moonlight, crawled out of the tall grass near the beach and took wing, flashing their brilliant light and filling the beach with a iridescent yellow glow. The Shepherd of the Damned rose to his feet and wept for the second innocent life he had just claimed.

The room in which Dustin Bates waited was deathly cold. There were only two chairs and a small table pushed up against the wall. He switched on and off between sitting on the unforgiving metal chair and standing up against the far wall, waiting impatiently for someone to come and fill him in on what was going on. He was worried about Aurora. After he had carried her to the medical wing, the doctors came and took her away, forcing him back out into the corridor. It wasn’t long before he was taken away and questioned about the incident. Dustin refused to answer anything until he had a update about Aurora, which they were unwilling to give. They all seemed to be more concerned about the relationship between the two of them, rather than her medical condition. Not wanting to put her in a uncomfortable situation, or make things worse, Dustin took blame for everything. He tried his best to downplay their relationship, but deep inside it killed him to do so. He loved Aurora. It was her uniqueness that drew him to her. There was something about her that he couldn’t resist, a unmistakable charm and kindness that he didn’t ever want to live without. There was something, familiar about the way she spoke and how she carried herself. When he was around her, he felt like he had loved her all his life. After he had returned from Prox, New West refused to let him atone for his crimes on earth and turn himself into the police. Without proof of Burnley’s death, Dustin’s mission was considered a failure. Dustin’s beef with Burnley was a personal one. He harbored a deep hatred for the man for months, having his mind rattled with painful memories that just wouldn’t go away on a daily basis was driving him insane. After approaching New West with the coordinates for Prox, Dustin knew that it was his chance to be rid of the man he loathed once and forever, but upon returning to Earth, he discovered that New West wanted to go to Prox for other reasons, Dustin’s obsession with the man was just a cover up to get him to divulge the location of the planet. Suffering in a solitary cell for weeks, Dustin started to go insane with grief for what he had done, for the lives that he had taken and was on the verge of madness when Aurora came to him. From the first moment when she entered his cell, he knew that his life was going to change. She explained to him that there would be many more trips to Prox, to find the location of the Shallow Bay. Dustin would be the one who would be their guide, he would work as Aurora’s liaison, doing everything and anything she wanted, and he was okay with that. The two worked together, becoming closer and closer every day. Eventually, Aurora confided in Dustin that New West had made many secret trips to Prox, but came back empty handed every time. Something that they were looking for just wasn’t there. In a way, Dustin didn’t care if New West succeeded or not. It was Aurora that interested him now.

Startled out of his thoughts, the door to the room opened up and two New West security personnel entered, throwing a bundle of desert gear at Dustin. He failed to catch it and the clothes fell down to the floor landing at his feet. “What’s this?” He asked curiously, adjusting his glasses.

“The mission to Prox goes on as scheduled. Get changed. We will return for you in 10 minutes, be ready.”

Sprinting across the room, Dustin hurried over to the men. “Wait! What about Aurora?”

One of the men turned around and shoved Dustin roughly. Tripping over a chair, he fell down to the floor and watched helplessly as they left. The door slammed shut and he was alone. Infuriated, Dustin kicked at the pile of clothing and punched weakly at the wall. It felt like he was back to square one, being nothing more than a prisoner of New West instead of a member. Any respect that they had for him as a scientist, or a researcher was clearly gone now, slipping right through his hands like sand through the hourglass. New West didn’t accept members that they deemed worthless, and now Dustin feared that this might be his last trip to Prox, and he couldn’t do anything but go along with it, at least for Aurora’s sake.

Reluctantly donning the desert gear, Dustin sat in the corner of the room on the floor, elbows resting on his knees when the door opened up again, and he looked up to see Aurora standing there. Just as he was about to say something to her, she shot him a severe gaze and he retreated back into silence. Her white hair was fixed back in the trademark messy bun, piled high on top of her head, while she wore the blue tinted sunglasses that fit her face perfectly. She was wearing almost the same style desert tactical gear as Dustin, although instead of the long cargo pants, she chose to wear shorts, which cut off just above the knee and a long, flowing sand colored coat. A pair of goggles and some pouches hung down from a canvas belt draped around her waist, and ankle high tan boots finished off her ensemble. In her hand, she held a small surface tablet, and was swiping through some documents as she stood over Dustin. “Get up Bates. The shuttle leaves in 5 minutes.”

With a swoop of her long coat, she turned around and made her way out the door. The two security men who with her then reached down and grabbed Dustin by the arms, dragging him to his feet. “Get off me!” Dustin shouted. “I am not a cripple, I can walk on my own, fuck all the way off!” Wiggling free of the men, he ran ahead of them, trying to catch up to Aurora. Sprinting to her side, Dustin walked briskly beside her as she made her way to the dock area. “Aurora, hey…. Are you alright? What happened back there? Are you sure that you are up to this trip?”

Keeping her eyes focused and fixed in front of her, Aurora quickened her pace. “You’re out of line, Bates. Get back to where you belong before I make them drag you back.”

“I get it, I shouldn’t have done what I did, but you were going through some sort of episode or something, I had to get help.” Dustin glanced over at her, trying to get a better look at her face. “I’ll take whatever punishment that they are willing to give me, but I need to know what happened and if you are alright. Please talk to me.”

Aurora stopped and motioned for the security to join her. She pulled off her blue glasses and her violet eyes glared at him. “You see me walking here, trying to get my job done and my mission for New West complete, so that means I must be fine. You on the other hand like I have only mentioned moments before are way out of line. You rank is no where near mine, and I highly suggest that you take a moment and put yourself back in place. This is the last mission to Prox that New West will be sending both of us on, unless we come back with results, so don’t fuck it up. Now that should answer your questions, and you’re looking for a New West implant, it’s not there. So now that we’ve got that over and done with, fall back and let’s get going.” Motioning for the guards, they came up beside her and shoved the tip of their guns into Dustin’s ribs, forcing him to start walking again.

Soon they strapped in their seats on the ship to Prox. The guards left Aurora and Dustin alone in the passenger area, while they buckled in at the cargo hold. The doors air-locked shut, sealing them in and soon they were high in space, traveling nearly at the sound of light to reach their destination. It wasn’t long before Dustin became anxious. “Hey Aurora, look… I am sorry. Can we forget all of this happened?”

Sighing, Aurora shook her head. “No. It’s my fault. I should have never opened up to you. It was a mistake getting close to you like that. New West doesn’t allow people to fall in love. They consider it a liability. Now that they know about us, I fear the worst. This mission… something doesn’t feel right.” Pulling the front of her coat together, Aurora shivered and sunk back into her seat.

Satisfied that he at least got her talking again, Dustin unbuckled his restraint and moved over to sit next to her. “Can you... no…. will you tell me what happened to you?”

Removing her blue tinted glasses again, she folded them up and neatly put them in one of her side pouches. “Dustin, who or what is the Shepherd of the Damned?”

Dustin’s hands started to shake. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Aurora turned to face him. “Don’t lie to me.” She pointed to a spot overhead. “These ships are always monitored. I watched your last return trip from Prox, the one where you were with Travis Owen. You told him that you wanted the Shepherd of the Damned to come take you to atone for what you had done on earth. When I had that episode, I saw a man, dressed in black, I felt what he was feeling… someone was killing him… and for one brief moment, I saw a fragment of his memories, and I saw you. I don’t know how I know this, but that man was the Shepherd of the Damned, and you know him. I want you to tell me everything you know about him. I am not ordering you to do this, I am asking you, as a…. friend. Please don’t keep anything from me. I need to know how I am linked to him, and why he knows so much about you.”

Clasping his hands together, Dustin shook his head. “I don’t know—I mean I kind of know. It’s all fuzzy. I went to Prox because of Burnley. He’s just some guy I knew, that did some terrible things to me. I didn’t care that New West was going to use me just for the coordinates to Prox, and I didn’t care that they might be destroying Prox either, picking it apart for resources, none of that really mattered. Burnley, this man… he took the things I loved away from me, and then he raped me. After that happened, everything kind of fell apart. Nothing was ever the same again. The weird thing is the more I try and remember it, the less I can. The Shepherd of the Damned, I think he’s the reason why I can’t remember it. He did something to my head and made everything cloudy, except for the Burnley stuff. That was so painful that nothing would make me forget it. The Shepherd, is supposed to guide souls to the afterlife, and punish the wicked. In the ship that day, I realized that I had just gotten revenge on the man I’ve hated for so long, but in doing so, I killed innocent people. It was like all of a sudden, I could see what I had done and felt awful about it. I was ready to face the music, or so to speak. Honestly, I didn’t want to go back to New West, I didn’t want to turn myself into the police. I just wanted the Shepherd to come and take me… make me answer for everything that I had done. Only that way could I truly be at peace with myself and everything else. This Shepherd, he is a very powerful being… and.. I think I was in love with him. I mean… when I think about him, there’s this odd sensation in my chest, he makes my heart hurt and I start to become really depressed. I guess you could say that I miss him, and long to be with him again, but…how can you be missing someone whom you don’t remember, or possibly never met?”

“So you were in love with a God that takes souls?” Aurora asked quietly. “A god that wanted you to forget him? That doesn’t sound very nice at all. What could you possibly have done to make him turn his back on you?”

“I guess I have a habit of falling for people that I can’t have.” Dustin answered softly. “The Shepherd…or um, Benjamin as I remember calling him walked away from me. I don’t know how or why, but I have this feeling deep inside that he betrayed me, and that is why I don’t try to remember more. The pain I feel when I try just overwhelms me, so I leave it. It’s the only thing I can do.”

Aurora looked away from Dustin. “In that split second, when I saw him… and I saw you… I felt an incredible sorrow. That was more than just some random memory. It was a private, intimate moment that the two of you had together. The way he felt when he looked at you in his arms was… indescribable. He loved you and sacrificed something for you Dustin. Think.. what was it?” Aurora tried her best to keep her emotions in check. “I need to know. This Shepherd and I, we’re connected, and I think that part of it might have something to do with you. Until I find out, I’m scared, I am honestly scared Dustin. When they shot him, I felt every single bullet hit me. Every drop of the blood that spilled was mine. Why was I able to feel his pain and see a flash of you in his memories. I… I think the Shepherd might be dead, and I saw the last thing that he saw before he died. It was love and longing for you, Dustin. I also believe that New West is involved in what happened to him. Everything seems to be connected, so if you are keeping something from me, please don’t.”

Sitting next to Aurora in silence, Dustin thought about her words. He knew exactly what she was asking. He peered at her over the rim of his black glasses. “Are you asking me if I still love Benjamin, the Shepherd of the Damned?”

Staring straight at him, Aurora spoke with a sharp tone. “Yes, that’s exactly what I am asking.”

“The Shepherd isn’t what you think it is. It’s a terrible and awful curse that consumes the soul of it’s host. Over time it becomes dark, and twisted, almost unholy. I hated the Shepherd of the Damned, but I loved the man that it chose. I am being honest with you when I tell you that I can’t remember anything about him. I think in a way, it’s not the Shepherd stopping me from remembering, but I am doing it to myself. If you felt the Shepherd die, then that means Benjamin is dead too, and no matter what we had, it’s over. That man, Benjamin gave in and let the Shepherd consume him, I won’t let him drag me down too.” Dustin reached up and ran his fingers through Aurora's silvery white hair. “Not when I have someone here willing to hold my hand and bring me out of the darkness. You brought me back to life.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a long, deep breath. “Don't do this, Dustin. I am warning you…don’t do this.”

“Aurora, I love you and want to be with you forever. Fuck New West and fuck the Shepherd of the Damned. We CAN be together, if you just allow it. I will never be in love with a memory, not when there is something real right in front of me.” Dustin ran his fingers down her jawline and swiped his thumb over her bottom lip. “It’s my turn to ask you a question now, and it’s a fairly simple one. Do you love me?” He asked, his eyes desperately searching her for an answer.

A soft, gentle expression appeared on her face and as she started to answer there was suddenly a loud explosion which pitched the ship forward sharply. Dustin fell out of his seat and was thrown harshly to the floor as the passenger hold started to fill up with a noxious toxic smoke. Aurora let out a loud scream as the ship tilted downward sending everything flying forward into the metal doors. Stretching her arm out, she tried to reach for Dustin, who was holding onto the bottom of one of the seats, desperately trying to keep himself from getting thrown against the wall as well, but he was just out of reach. The ship was rapidly descending, falling out of the sky at an alarming rate. Fumbling for the straps that kept her locked in, Dustin yelled to her. “No! Stay where you are! We only have a few moments left before impact, if you aren't buckled in, you'll be crushed. It's safer if you stay where you are.”

Outside the wind was howling madly, calling the ship down, closer to the surface of Prox. Aurora struggled to keep herself upright. The rapid descent from so high in the atmosphere was causing her to feel light headed. Whatever happened in the cockpit had totally disabled the engines, and now the ship was dropping right out of the sky. Once again, she tried to stretch out to reach Dustin. “Please, try to take my hand! If you don't, you'll die. For God's sake please try!”

All over the ship, alarms and warning lights were going off, signaling the close proximity of the surface. Dustin looked at Aurora, into the deep violet color of her eyes and smiled. “You never answered my question.” He said quietly. A single tear rolled down Aurora's cheek and then the ship crashed into Prox.

Everything was dark. Dustin woke up in extreme pain, every muscle in his body screaming out in agony all at the same time. He was lying on the cold metal floor of the ship, crumpled up like a rag doll against one of the walls in a miserable heap. All around him were twisted metal and bare wires, the remains of what was once the passenger hold of the New West ship. Rolling over onto his back, he rested his head against the steel floor. The cold metal felt good against his skin, it meant that he was alive and had survived the crash. A few sparks flew out from the overhanging wires near his face, momentarily lighting up the area around him, and he glanced over to where Aurora had been sitting. He couldn't see anything, it was too dark and his glasses were missing. He held his breath for a moment and called out into the darkness. “AURORA, AURORA can you hear me? Say something! Let me know you are alright.” There was no response. Fumbling around, Dustin searched for his glasses and realized that he was lying in a damp pool of something foul smelling. “Oh my god.... no no no.” He mumbled, running his fingers through the wetness. Sniffing, he rubbed his fingers together and then wrinkled his nose. “Fuck! It's fuel.” Another spark from the overhead wires made him jump, and he realized the serious nature of his situation. “AURORA!” He called out into the darkness again, struggling to get to his feet. He tried to remember which seat she had been sitting in, and make is way over to it. One by one, he walked down the aisle feeling each of the seats, counting them each in turn, hoping that she was in one of them, just unconscious and not able to respond. The wires continued to snap and drop sparks down onto the floor with a frightening pace now. It would only be a matter of moments before one of them hit the puddles of fuel. Starting to panic, Dustin ran his hands over every seat now, like a blind man, desperately looking for some sign of Aurora, but he couldn't find her. Knowing that he had to vacate the ship as soon as possible, Dustin felt his way back to the door which separated the passenger hold from the main part of the ship, and the exit. Finding the handle, he yanked on it, but it wouldn't release. The door was jammed shut. Cursing over and over, he continued to pull on it, until he heard a loud snap and then a whoosh behind him. The rear of the cabin was on fire. As the intense heat started to build, Dustin took a moment to run back to where Aurora had been sitting. On her chair were her blue sunglasses, cracked and shattered. The safety belts which should have been holding her in were severed, not from the crash, but with a sharp instrument. Small pearl sized droplets of blood soaked into the seat and were already turning brown and drying. She wasn't there. Dustin looked at the door once again, and his heart sank. It wasn't stuck. It had been manually locked with a electronic lock. “Son of a bitch!” He screamed, running his hands through his hair. Cursing loudly, Dustin kicked at the broken seats as the heat intensified and the fire grew hotter around him. His mind raced. Did someone come and pull Aurora out of her seat and lock him in to die? Was this New West's plan all along to finally be rid of him, or perhaps to punish him for being in love with Aurora? He glanced at the key card reader, which strangely enough still had power. Dipping his hand into his pocket, he withdrew the card that he had hacked to get into the upper levels of the New West base. They had forgotten to take it from him after he swapped clothing back on Earth. His heart started to beat quickly. Maybe, just maybe it might work. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Dustin leaned against the metal doors, which were rapidly heating up now, and said a silent prayer. This had to work, there was no other way to get out. If it didn't, then his last few moments would be spent in intense agony as he slowly burned to death. Hovering the card just above the key reader, he started to laugh. “Burnley, you bastard. Even in death you're mocking me. Well, it looks like I'll be with you burning in hell too.” His fingers clutched at the plastic card tightly. He never imagined that in hacking a card to see Aurora, it would be one day saving his life. “please work, please work, please work” Dustin kept chanting over and over. Swallowing, he swiped the card in the reader and there was a loud click. The door unlocked. Without thinking, Dustin pulled it open and was immediately assaulted by a wall of scorching hot flames. The front of the ship where the explosion was, had already been burning now for some time, and was slowly consuming the rest of the craft. Now that Dustin opened the door, it created a heat tunnel, feeding oxygen to the flames and causing them to burn hotter and higher. Sweat poured down his face and into his eyes as he raised his coat, trying to shield himself from as much of the heat as he could. Not quite familiar with the layout of the ship, it took him several minutes to navigate to the cargo hold, where he kicked the emergency door open and dropped out onto the soft sand of Prox.

Coughing, Dustin rolled away from the ship, which was now totally engulfed in flames and staggered over to a pile of large boulders. Pulling himself up, he crawled on top of them and pulled the remains of his burnt coat off. Almost immediately, he felt pain. Glancing down at his arms, he could see that his skin was red and blistered; there were too many second degree burns on his hands and arms to count. He knew that he had to get treatment for them as soon as possible or infection would set in. The sun was just setting on Prox and the nighttime chill air felt good on his skin. Looking around, he could see nothing on the horizon. The only thing around him was the pile of rocks he was standing on and the blazing fireball that once was the New West transport ship. Help was not coming any time soon, but at least he was still alive.

Deciding that it was best to stay where he was until morning, Dustin sat down on the rocks, staring at the fire and thinking about Aurora. After opening the locked door, there was no time to go searching the rest of the ship, and there was the possibility that she was still trapped inside somewhere, unable to free herself. It was too late to go back in now, as the flames jumped high into the night sky and scorched the ground leaving wide black scars of color on the white sand. All Dustin could do was sit and wait until the fire burned itself out, and then poke around the scattered ashes in the morning to find any remains. He shuddered, thinking about the gruesome image of finding Aurora’s charred body among the wreckage. He would be utterly lost without her. In the back of his mind, Dustin thought about Aurora’s words, warning him over and over about getting close to her and going against New West. The ship crashing was far too convenient for it to be a accident. Aurora said that it would be their last trip to Prox; and now the realization was setting in that no one would be coming back for them. It explained the small crew, and lack of equipment on the ship, it was intended on being a one way trip the entire time. The whole thing was a set up to permanently get rid of both of them in one fell swoop. Lying down on the cold stones, Dustin curled up in a ball and wept, as he waited for sleep to take him. He never thought that he would end up back on Prox, back to where it all began and without Benjamin to guide him. In the far off corners of his mind, he could swear that he heard laughter.

Two hours later, Dustin was awoken by a shrill scream that rattled his eardrums. He sat up quickly. “Aurora? Is that you?” The shadows all around him moved and then he heard it again, a high pitched screech that no human could ever make. Off in the distance, and then somewhere behind him, another answered the call, then another and another. Dustin jumped to his feet, and looked down at the wreckage of the ship. There was nothing more to it than dying embers and smoldering sand. All the light had been extinguished now, leaving only the silver moonlight as illumination. The shadows shifted again, and suddenly he heard what sounded like scurrying footsteps at the base of the boulder where he was standing, just a few feet away. A noxious, rancid smell filled the air, and he put his arm up to cover his nose and mouth, to keep from retching. Dustin's head snapped around, hearing more and more footsteps. They were moving closer now, surrounding the boulder. In the dim light, he could see nothing more than shadows, or black figures darting in and out of his line of vision. They continued to scream; their voices calling out into the dark night, summoning more of their kind. Glancing around, Dustin could see that they were all around him now, and he was totally surrounded. A gust of wind blew some of the clouds away from the moon, and he got the first look at one of the creatures that were stalking him. They were human sized, but their limbs were contorted and misshapen. The hair on their heads was matted and dirty, clinging to their sunken skulls in clumps, hanging down over their pale flesh in knotted tendrils. Each of them wore a long, black hooded robe, which was shredded and only barely covered their bodies. Protruding from the sleeves were claw like hands; once human fingers twisted bent into deadly weapons, capable of tearing anything the came across apart with one good slash. As they called out into the night with their blood curdling cry, they leaned their heads back and exposed several layers of razor sharp rotten teeth, neatly aligned inside their mouth, with bits of their last meal still stuck between them. The worst part of their appearance were their terrible black eyes, They were nothing more than dark pools that filled their sunken eye sockets, reflecting the image back of everything that they preyed upon. Many a unfortunate soul had cried out and terror, seeing himself reflected in those black eyes while they were being eaten alive. These creatures were the scourge of Prox, a perversion of what once was.

Dustin inhaled sharply. “Carnivores.” He whispered. With bare feet, they scurried across the sand, moving with a unnatural speed, forcing him further back onto the center of the boulder, where he stood, weaponless and defenseless. He lost count of how many were approaching now, but by the growing dismal stink which hung in the air, he knew that he didn't have a chance. New West had not given him any weapons or communication devices for this trip to Prox, and with good reason, They didn't want him or Aurora to live.

Underneath the wailing of the creatures, Dustin could hear something else now, the unmistakable sound of pebbles breaking loose and falling down into the sand. Turning his attention to the bottom of the boulder, he saw the creatures lower themselves down to all fours and slowly start to claw their way up to him. His head whipped around, they were coming from every direction. “Get away from me!” He yelled, hoping in vain that maybe he might scare them off, but his pitiful attempt only infuriated them, and they began to climb faster and higher now. Desperate, Dustin picked up a few stones that were sitting at his feet and tossed them at the dark shapes, hitting a few square in the chest, but it didn't seem to have any effect on them. He glanced down at the wreckage of the ship and noticed a metal beam sticking out from the ashes which had not melted. A possible weapon. The creatures were closing in now, surrounding him, some climbing up through the steep boulders, others jumping from spot to spot, kicking up dust and sand as they landed. Dustin had to move now, and he had to move quickly. Summoning all his courage, he let out a loud scream and darted forward, spotting an opening between a few of the carnivores. As he sprinted past them, the creatures tightened their ranks, moving in to the spot where he just was, a sea of black rags drowning out the white sand. As he darted between them, Dustin could feel the icy coldness of their claws reaching out for him as he slipped alongside them with only a few inches to spare. His eyes were set on the piece of steel now just feet away from him, and he prepared himself to feel the scorching heat of the burnt metal when he picked it up. Even though it would probably sear the flesh off the palm of his hand, it was a risk that was worth taking. The creatures would probably kill him, yes, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He had cheated death too many times already on Prox, and now it was time to pay the bill.

Passing by the last group of Carnivores, Dustin went for broke and lunged forward, diving for the piece of metal when something struck his shin and toppled him forward, stopping him dead in his tracks. Losing his balance, he fell forward and hit the sand, face first. Moments away from reaching the weapon, he had tripped over a rock and landed on the blackened earth in a miserable heap. Lying on his stomach, his head hit the ground and became covered in the scorched sand; the taste of fuel filled his mouth, and he instantly started to gag. Coughing and spitting, the carnivores took advantage of the situation and descended upon him, their claws out and poised to strike. Dustin heard the sound of the back of his shirt being ripped open from behind, and then felt the sting of those talons digging into his skin, dragging long lines down his flesh before pulling away. He screamed out in agony and grabbed for the piece of steel, but the moment he wrapped his hand around it, another creature let out a high pitched shriek and slashed at his extended arm, cutting it from wrist to elbow, nearly severing it. In agony, Dustin tried to pull himself to his feet, but then the pack moved in like a wave of darkness. One by one, they started to slice him, picking at his wounds, licking the fresh blood off their claws and sending them into a frenzy of hunger, fueled by their ferocious appetite. Trying to ignore the blinding pain all over his body, Dustin kicked and punched at the creatures, fully intent on getting them off of him, but they were much too strong and he had already lost a sizable amount blood to put up a decent fight. Still not willing to accept defeat, Dustin reached out once again for the steel rod with his uninjured hand and grasping it tightly, managed to swing it in a wide arc around him, throwing off several of the feeding Carnivores. Using the rod as support, he pulled himself up, glaring at the creatures in bitter contempt. There was no way that he would allow himself to die on Prox, all alone and not knowing what happened to Aurora. He would have to stay alive, there was no other choice, he had to find her.

Feeling energized by his love for her, Dustin took a deep breath and gripped the metal pipe tightly, but the moment of clarity and confidence was short lived. He managed to make it to his feet; and then he glanced down at the shredded flesh of his arms, chest and legs and started to feel dizzy and weak. He hadn’t seen the severity of his wounds until now, and the realization suddenly hit him that he wouldn’t be leaving this spot, no matter how inspired he was to find Aurora, his body had other plans.

The steel rod dropped out of his hand and he sank down to his knees, blood flowing out of him like a river. The moment he hit the sand, they were on him again, shrieking in triumph and victory.

Not wanting to see his own death reflected in their black eyes, Dustin closed his and waited for death. The stench of death and rot was all around him now, and he could no longer hold back the vomit that had been threatening to come forth ever since the creatures arrived. He was on his knees, on a planet where he didn't want to be, his body torn to pieces, vomiting and dying, Humiliated and disgusted in himself and in the situation, Dustin started crying. “Why the hell are you doing this to me? You gave me a new life and took everything away from me again! It isn't fair! I never wanted this! Why didn't you just let me rot like you did your son? “Fuck you for everything! And fuck you for making me fall in love with you, Benjamin.”

Turning his gaze up to the sky, Dustin felt the tears flow down his cheeks and took a long, deep breath. This was the end for him. He focused on the stars, high overhead and watched them sparkle brightly in the dark sky. The carnivores descended on him and clawed at his arms now, pulling them roughly, trying to rip them right out of his shoulders. Suddenly, the silence was shattered with a loud boom and a flash of light. Several of the creatures went flying backwards, away from Dustin, their wounded whimpers echoing loudly in his ears. Confused, Dustin looked around and saw the Carnivores swarm forward, away from him, growling angrily at something just out of the line of vision. There was the sound of a weapon being powered up, and then a crack of purple electricity hit one of them square in the chest where it exploded and then arched out in a line to the others, sending a high voltage shock through their bodies. They started to twitch as one by one they succumbed to electrocution and dropped down to the sand, dead. A few that managed to avoid the electric bolt started to run off, into the darkness, but after a few moments, the sound of gunshots broke the eerie silence and Dustin found himself all alone. Still kneeling, he pitched forward and extended his hands, letting his fingers sink into the warm sand. It was over, and he was safe for the moment. Lowering his head, he tried to calm himself down, control his breathing and stop his heart from pounding rapidly. He was still losing blood from the wounds at an alarming rate, and if he continued to panic, he'd be dead within moments. Trying to keep it all together, Dustin saw a pair of sand colored ankle boots appear in front of him. Tilting his head up, he saw a woman standing before him, She was dressed in thigh high shorts with a hip pouch, a long flowing coat that clung around her slender figure as if it were made exactly for her, and carried a backpack in which several weapons stuck out from the sides. Her face was concealed by a hood, a mask and rose colored goggles. Everything was starting to go dark. The woman reached down, offering him her hand. “Aurora?” Inches away from her fingertips, Dustin lost the fight and the world went dark and black around him.

“Get up.” Dustin rolled over onto his side and moaned. His entire body was aching from head to foot. He felt like he had just ran a marathon and now just wanted to sleep it off for the rest of the day, or maybe a week. “I said get up.” The voice repeated. He felt a foot kick at him as he lay on the sand and groggily opened his eyes. Aurora walked around him and sat on the other side of the small campfire that she had started near the burnt out wreckage of the New West ship. She was still dressed in head to foot in her desert gear, with the hood pulled up over her head, and face concealed by a scarf, but the thing that Dustin noticed the most was the bright red stains of blood on her sleeves. In a panic, he sat up quickly, and instantly regretted it, as a searing pain shot through his head. “I wouldn’t move around too much.” Aurora said, tossing a bottle of water at him. “I gave you a dose of a drug that temporarily stops bleeding, but a side effect is that it will severely dehydrate you and make you dizzy for a while. As soon as you are stable, we’ve got to get going. It’s not safe, and you need more medical attention for those wounds than I can treat out here.”

Glancing down at his arms, Dustin saw that Aurora had dressed and bound the deepest cuts, stopping the bleeding and essentially saving his life. The bandages were neat and tidy, done with great care and a loving hand. He did not know how long he had been out for, but it was still nightfall, and the smell of charred carnivore flesh hung in the air, a grisly reminder of the vicious attack. Taking a long drink from the bottle that she had given him, Dustin closed his eyes and gulped at the cool water greedily. Never in his life had he been this thirsty, and he finished it off within a few moments. Tossing the bottle into the fire, he looked back over to Aurora, who was rummaging through her bag.

Rubbing his hands together in front of the fire, and getting comfortable Dustin sighed. “Aurora how did you get off the ship? I have to know…I remember the crash, but then when I woke up, you were gone, and that door was sealed shut. How did you get out, and how the hell did you find weapons like that to use against those things?”

Not answering him, Aurora pulled out a jacket that matched hers and threw it over to him. “Put that on. If you’re well enough to ask questions, then you are well enough to start walking. The carnivores are clever creatures, they communicate with each other through transmissions of brain waves and we just silenced a whole pack, so others will come looking for them, and when they do, we can’t be here.” Standing up, she kicked some sand into the fire, instantly smothering it and abruptly cutting off the soothing warmth.

Dustin held the jacket in his arms and looked at Aurora curiously. He was already starting to feel the chill night air of Prox in his bones. “I don’t want to go anywhere without some answers first, Aurora. I mean.. where are we going to go anyway? We don’t have the coordinates for the Shallow Bay, and it’s the middle of the night. We’d just be wandering around looking for our own deaths. Wouldn’t it be better to stay here with the fire burning until morning? Leaving now seems to be a terrible risk I am not sure I’d be willing to take.”

Tossing her backpack on a shoulder, Aurora sighed and walked over to Dustin. Grabbing him by the front of his shredded shirt, she roughly pulled him to his feet. “Night is when those things like to hunt. They can see in the dark. There are probably some out there right now, watching us and waiting for us to slip up so that they can pounce on us and rip us apart. I came all the way out here to save your sorry ass, but if you want to sit around a fire and roast marshmallows, then go right ahead and do that. I’m not going to beg you to come with me, I’ve got other things to do, but I can assure you that there won’t be anything left of you but your bones in the morning.” Letting go of him, she powered up one of her weapons and turned away. “But if you want to live, then I suggest that you shut up and follow me.”

Donning the jacket, Dustin looked back toward the wreckage of the crashed ship. “You know where the Shallow Bay is, don’t you Aurora?” She didn’t answer, but started to walk off into the night. “How much more are you not telling me?” He mumbled under his breath.

Left without a choice, Dustin hurried after Aurora and walked through the unforgiving desert of Prox at her side. He needed to talk to her, to find out what was truly going on, but Aurora’s silence spoke volumes. Folding his arms over his chest, Dustin felt the warm, jagged wounds lurking underneath the clean white cloth. It was a miracle that he was alive. Aurora told him that she got the bleeding stopped, but it wouldn’t last, and that frightened Dustin more than anything. He remembered the wretched hot sunlight that scorched the Prox deserts during daytime hours, and knew that he had to keep walking. He trusted Aurora implicitly, but he wasn’t sure what New West had done to her, or what her motives were now, and that made him feel incredibly uneasy. He had no choice but to keep moving on, hoping that eventually she would open up to him.

Hours passed, and soon the first rays of sunlight broke over the mountains. Dustin began to feel tired and weak. Spots of red were starting to show up through his bandages as he continued to walk; evidence that the drug Aurora had given him was wearing off, and his wounds were reopening. Dropping back behind her, Dustin made his way through the burning sands suffering in silence. His legs felt heavy, and it was a monumental task, just walking through the hot sand. Every step became a burden, and all he could do was keep his head down and listen to the sound of Aurora’s footsteps a few paces ahead, leading him on. Around noon, Dustin ditched the jacket she had given him. It had become soaked with sweat and hung on him like a death shroud. Perspiration dripped down his face and beaded up on his nose, stinging his eyes, but still, Dustin walked on. Aurora would lead him somewhere safe, she had to.

After walking for the better part of the day, and sick with dehydration and mild hallucinations, Dustin stopped. He sank down to his knees in the sand with his head lowered and closed his eyes. He heard Aurora’s footsteps stop and the sand shuffling as she turned around. “Get up, Dustin.” She snapped.

“I can’t.” Dustin mumbled. “Look at me, I’m done for.” Opening his eyes and raising his head, Dustin squinted into the bright sun at Aurora. “Just go. I’m meant to die out here anyway. At least you can get yourself to safety before night if you leave me. Go on Aurora. It’s okay.”

Taking off her backpack, Aurora threw it down onto the sand. “Christ, you’re completely worthless aren’t you Bates? You’ve walked all night, all this way and you’re giving up now?” Frustrated, Aurora put her hands on her hips and paced around him. “No. I am not going to let you quit that easily. I risked my life to save yours, and I’ll be damned if I return to the base empty handed.” Bending down, she grabbed hold of Dustin’s arm and threw it over her shoulder, then slid her free hand around his waist, pulling him to his feet and supporting his entire weight. “Look, up ahead. We’re almost there, so pull yourself together! WALK!”

Through pain filled blurry eyes, Dustin looked up and saw the large gray walls of the Shallow Bay looming just ahead. “Is that?”

“Yes, it’s the Shallow Bay. Don’t bother asking questions, just walk.” Aurora cut him off abruptly. With a new found strength, Dustin started to walk again, leaning on her and let her guide him the last few miles to the base which he remembered so vividly. As they approached the entrance, he watched as Aurora placed her hand on the sensor, and moments later the doors opened up. A blast of cool air hit him as they stepped inside. It felt fantastic and refreshing on his feverish skin. Aurora led him over to the corner of the room. “Here, lean against this wall while I get help.” Carefully, she slipped away from Dustin and walked over to a computer terminal and started typing.

“I never thought I’d be back here.” Dustin said quietly. His legs felt wobbly and weak, and instead of standing, he slowly eased himself down onto the floor and leaned with his back up against the wall. “This place… this belonged to Thomas. His family… they were all here. So many memories within these walls…If only they could talk, they would tell you the most fantastic stories.”

Aurora turned away from the computer. “Help is on the way.” She looked down at Dustin on the floor covered in blood and sweat. “What are you going on about now?”

Dustin smiled. “Nothing.”

“Well, after you’re seen by the medic, things will start to make more sense. You’ve been through a lot, with the crash and being attacked by carnivores.” Aurora said softly. Walking over, she came to kneel down by Dustin’s side. “I know it’s all overwhelming now, but everything will be explained in time. I promise.”

“I am not afraid of anything, as long as I have you at my side, Aurora.” Dustin whispered. Reaching out, he took hold of her hand, holding it tightly in his. The moment his fingers touched hers, she inhaled and immediately withdrew it. Dustin looked at her, confused and hurt. “Aurora?”

Standing up, Aurora immediately took a few steps away from Dustin. His eyes searched her for a explanation. “I am not Aurora.” She said sternly. Pulling off her goggles and loosening her scarf in the dim light of the corridor, Dustin could see that the woman standing in front of him did not have the beautiful lavender eyes or pale skin of the woman that he loved. She slid her hood down, exposing a shock of bright red hair, tied back in a braid which was tucked into her jacket. “My name is Ember.”

The door at the end of the hall slid open. A group of men entered with a stretcher. They immediately went over to Dustin and started to attend to him. “Ember… Scott’s missing daughter? I thought you were younger? I don’t understand.” He whispered, keeping his eyes on the girl in front of him. “I was so sure that you were Aurora… but if you’re not her, then where is she? Did she survive the crash? Oh my god, what if she’s still out there?”

“Let the medics take care of you.” Ember said softly. “I told you, everything will be explained after you are feeling better.”

“No!” Dustin shouted. “I want to go find her, right now!!” Struggling against the medics, Dustin tried to force them away with the little strength that he had left. “If you won’t go look for her out there in the desert then I will! I don’t need your help!” Flailing about, he fought the people who were trying to help him, all he wanted to go was get off the floor and go find Aurora. The men did the best they could do restrain Dustin. Ember took a few more steps back, frightened by his sudden outrage and was slightly startled when the door opened up again. A man entered the room and Dustin stopped moving completely, staring at the sight before him.

Ember ran to the man and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Dad! Sorry I took so long, it was hard to find the crash site!” After embracing her father, Ember turned her attention back towards Dustin. “He’s in pretty bad shape, but I got him here, just like you asked me to.”

The man let go of his daughter and walked across the small room, to kneel down beside Dustin who was frozen with fear. “What’s wrong Bates? Seen a ghost?” Burnley smiled.


End file.
